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Committee endorses bill to create joint committee on military and veterans affairs (HB1056)
Summary
The Rules Committee recommended HB1056, which would add a joint committee on military and veterans affairs to House rules with an emergency clause to allow immediate formation and appointments this session.
Representative Brian Evans (District 68) introduced a bill to create a joint committee on military and veterans affairs, saying the state should place greater focus on military and veteran issues. “I have a growing burden, and heart for what we are trying to do as a state in regards to our relations with our military,” Evans said, citing growth at Fort Smith and Little Rock Air Force Base and the need for focused legislative attention.
Evans described the proposed committee as a joint House–Senate body that would meet at the call of its chairs and include appointees with direct military ties. He said the bill contains an emergency clause and that, if adopted into House rules and approved by the Senate, a subsequent resolution would formally remove military affairs from the aging, children and youth committee and place it in the new joint committee.
Evans told the committee he and Senator Hester have coordinated the plan, that the Senate had indicated support for appointments, and that sponsors were holding two to three filed bills until the new committee is in place. When asked about timing, Evans said he expected the process to take about two weeks from adoption in committee and floor action: “I would think that, you know, typical time frame of moving a piece of legislation within 2 weeks, we can have this all completed.”
There were no public speakers on the bill; the committee voted to give HB 10 56 a do-pass recommendation and send it to the floor for final action.
